


Who's That Girl?

by Lothiriel84



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: Family, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-04
Updated: 2013-05-04
Packaged: 2017-12-10 09:44:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/784652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lothiriel84/pseuds/Lothiriel84
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This definitely wasn't the first stakeout in Lisbon's career, and yet it was completely different from everything she'd done before.<br/>(Just a random piece of random, so that you know.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Who's That Girl?

**Author's Note:**

>   
>  _Who’s that girl_   
>  _Running around with you?_
> 
> _\- Eurythmics -_   
> 

This definitely wasn't the first stakeout in Lisbon's career, and yet it was completely different from everything she'd done before. She wasn't following a suspect in one of their cases this time, and that was enough for her to feel terribly guilty.

If Jane discovered what she was doing, then their friendship would be over sooner than either of them had been expecting. However, he'd been acting strangely of late – even worse than his usual kind of strange – and she couldn't help worrying about him.

The fact that he stubbornly refused to give any explanation whatsoever wasn't helping in the slightest. That was the reason why she was now staring at his Citroen, waiting for him to show up.

Her heart skipped a beat when he did at last, for there was a woman on his arm. A beautiful Hispanic woman in her early thirties – and she was quite obviously pregnant as well.

That was when their eyes met, and she wished she was a thousand miles away from where they stood now.

xxx

"Stalking? Seriously, Lisbon?"

"I wasn't…"

"Don't try and insult my intelligence."

She sighed. "I was worried, okay?"

"No need to worry, I can handle this."

Jane looked like he didn't want to discuss the subject at all, but she still had to ask. If he was going to have a kid, they should take the necessary precautions against Red John.

The sooner she knew, the better.

"Is she…?"

"Family matters to me as much as it does to you. Stay away from her."

It sounded more as an order than a request. However, he looked so upset that she didn't dare to argue.

She was going to do anything in her power to protect the woman all the same. Jane was part of her family somehow, and she wouldn't allow the past to repeat itself.

The serial killer would have to step over her dead body before hurting another person her friend cared about. All the rest didn't matter, as she resolutely pushed away all her questions about how he'd got entangled with that woman in the first place.

xxx

Lisbon didn't get to see the woman for the next few months. She knew that Jane had bought her an apartment somewhere in Sacramento, and made sure that she wouldn't be lacking anything.

However, he never talked about her, nor about the impending birth of the child. It broke her heart that he wouldn't share this moment with her, but she didn't want to add more weight to the burden he was already carrying.

Whatever had happened between him and Gabriela – that was her name – it was clear enough that he wasn't in love with her. Even if she was just an ill-advised one-night stand, it wouldn't be like Jane to forsake his own child anyway.

He would still feel guilty for betraying his late family though. Had he been in love with the mother of his kid, then maybe things could have been different.

It was a Sunday afternoon when she happened to come across the same woman she was thinking about. Gabriela was carrying a paper bag with some groceries, and Lisbon felt compelled to step in and offer her help.

The other woman thanked her politely, then invited her in for a tea.

xxx

"You're Patrick's friend, aren't you? He always talks about you."

Lisbon tried a friendly smile, but failed miserably. The woman that was sitting in front of her was way younger, and definitely more attractive than she could ever be. Not to mention the fact that she was carrying Jane's child too.

"Does he really?" she said as she turned away to place the teacup on the coffee table. At least she didn't have to look her in the eye that way.

"He's a good man – nothing like his father."

As much as Lisbon wanted to get out of here, curiosity eventually won the day. Jane always avoided to mention his father, she wasn't even sure he was still alive at all.

"You know Jane's father as well?"

Gabriela grimaced slightly. "I was so stupid to fall for his lies. I though he cared – but the only person Alex Jane cares about is Alex Jane himself, and no one else."

Something dawned on Lisbon, and she struggled to keep control of her voice. "You mean that he…?"

"He's Daniel's father, yes," she said softly, stroking her swollen belly. "He made it clear that he didn't want to have anything to do with our child, so I had to turn to the kid's brother instead."

Brother. The baby was Jane's little brother, not his son.

Why on Earth he hadn't bother to correct her first assumption, Lisbon simply couldn't say.

xxx

A smile tugged at her lips as she watched Jane pacing the waiting room at the hospital.

"Hey. It's going to be alright."

"I know, it's just…"

"You've never had a brother before."

He smiled back at long last. "Not one I knew about, at the very least."

"It's quite endearing that you care so much about him."

"I kept on asking for a little sibling when I was a kid, so that I wouldn't be alone anymore. But that was before my mother ran away on us with a stranger, and my father started seeking comfort in the arms of random women."

"You could have told me the truth, you know."

His gaze was uncharacteristically vulnerable when it met hers. "It's just – I felt so ashamed on my father's behalf."

Lisbon placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Little Daniel is lucky to have a brother like you."

He only wrapped her in a warm embrace and brushed his lips lightly against her brow.


End file.
